'Muscle upon muscle' and Gannon's Isle: Why a Syracuse favorite is opening downtown

Even Eileen Gannon was surprised. Last weekend, she and her brother John held the season opener for their Gannon's Isle ice cream shop, an institution in the Valley neighborhood of Syracuse.

While it's still harsh and gray throughout Central New York, the event always has symbolic importance: Once Gannon’s is running, spring is at least close enough to dream about. Still, this first day brought an unusually passionate turnout. Eileen said the reason quickly became obvious:

“For every 10 customers we had, I think probably eight of them said something to us about going downtown,” she said. “We didn’t realize it would be such a big deal.”

The visitors were excited about an announcement John and Eileen made last week: Starting in mid-April, their nephew Patrick will be managing a year-round Gannon's ice cream shop in the newly restored Deys Centennial Plaza. The immediate neighbor will be Cafe Kubal, a coffee shop with whom the Gannons already collaborate.

The Kubal on University Avenue, near Syracuse University, uses Gannon's ice cream to make espresso milk shakes, which may soon become a favorite for a caffeine-challenged downtown clientele, as well.

Bob Doucette (left), Matt Godard and Rich DeVito in 2011, in Godard's downtown Cafe Kubal coffee shop, in the Deys Centennial Plaza. DeVito and Doucette, as part of an attempt to bring strong local businesses downtown, have also attracted a new Gannon's ice cream shop.

“Now we’ll be neighbors, and I think it’s going to create some really nice ambiance,” said Matt Godard, owner of Kubal, whose gleaming coffee shop made a statement about revival in 2011 when it opened in Deys, a former department store at South Salina and Jefferson streets. Godard plans on adding a full bakery to Kubal next month, and both he and the Gannons intend to provide outdoor seating in warm weather.

Bob Doucette, a developer who partnered with Rich DeVito in restoring the Deys building, said he spent 20 years trying to convince the Gannon siblings to take a shot at downtown ice cream. "Who doesn't know and love Gannon's?" he said. "They're such nice people; they do everything well."

Years ago, Doucette's original pitch was for them to open at Armory Square. But Eileen and John were still nurturing shops in the Valley and on Velasko Road, and they didn't feel quite ready to open a third store. Last year, they began to seriously consider another shop following the success of ice cream sales from some downtown carts.

They made the decision after speaking with Steve Case, a leasing agent for Deys Centennial. Case described the burst of growth along Salina Street, especially the $27 million Pike Block development. He talked about foot traffic from downtown office workers during the day, and the potential for evening traffic from hundreds of new downtown residents - as well as from the crowds going to the Landmark Theatre, the Civic Center or the War Memorial.

Case made the critical point that downtown works best when new businesses add muscle upon muscle. In other words, once Gannon’s opens next to Kubal, the two shops will contribute vitality and customers to one another. Andy Maxwell, the city’s director of sustainability and neighborhood planning, speaks of it as a “ripple effect.”

Or, in Gannon’s case, a “Robineau Raspberry Ripple” effect – to mention just one of dozens of flavors.

Eileen Gannon said she got started with ice cream in 1982, when she was getting out of college. Eileen's father ran a grocery store at West Seneca Turnpike and Valley Drive. Arctic Island, which had sold ice cream for years from a little stand on the same property, had moved down the street.

When Eileen's dad asked if she'd be interested in selling ice cream, she and John agreed to give the stand a try. At first, they offered only “soft serve.” But they were aware of a speciality ice cream revolution in New England, triggered by Ben & Jerry’s. Eileen took a crash course at Penn State in making ice cream. Once she got home, she and John decided to do it right.

They came out with a chocolate raspberry truffle that people loved, and that led to such flavors as "Cuse Trax" and "Marty's Marshmallow." John and Eileen offered big portions and big taste, and artist J.P. Crangle provided a beloved decorating scheme of lunatic ice cream characters, and the place started to boom.

“What’s so exciting about them coming downtown is that they’re not just doing it to do a good thing," Maxwell said. "It’s a homegrown business that’s wildly popular, and they’re coming because there’s a demand.”

As for Eileen, thinking back on her own childhood, she remembers how her mother would dress her in fine clothes and take her to the old Edwards tea room, where Eileen would get a “serious chocolate ice cream soda.” The sheer electricity of the trip downtown meshed with the best ice cream she’d ever had.

To her, that's nostalgia. To us, it's a reason to look forward to next month.

Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Post-Standard. Email him at skirst@syracuse.com, visit his blog at www.syracuse,com/kirst, write to him in care of The Post-Standard, Clinton Square, Syracuse 13221 or send him a message on Facebook or Twitter.